from my blog, Basie!
Michael Dobbs -- who recently survived the tsunami in South Asia while vacationing with his family -- reports on an extremely interesting development in the Armstrong Williams payola scandal. In "Education Chief Defends Payments to Pundit" he writes:
Education Secretary Roderick R. Paige yesterday defended payments to a conservative black commentator to promote the No Child Left Behind law as a standard "outreach effort" to minority groups who stand to benefit most from the Bush administration's showcase education program. [emphasis added]
This is the
standard policy? Did the Secretary of Education just admit that it is
standard policy to bribe journalists in return for positive coverage? ...?
If it is not yet clear to the American people that this administration is wholly unethical in its dealings with the media, hopefully they will now realize the degree to which the Bushies will go to push their radical agenda. Perhaps an investigation by the agency's inspector general -- coupled with an
impending investigation by a bipartisan Senate subcommittee -- will enlighten the American people further.
Paige, the nation's first African American education secretary, said in a statement that he was deeply disturbed by the publicity surrounding the $240,000 contract. He announced an investigation by the Department of Education's inspector general to clear up any unresolved issues so as not to "sully the fine people and good name of this department."
It is not clear to what extent this scandal will be revealed to the public. It is incumbent upon every major media outlet to ensure that they reporters are not on the dole from the administration -- or any outside group, for that matter.
Only when reporters are forced to sign the oath swearing that they have never received money in return for favorable coverage should this story go away. The blogosphere will have to be very aware in the coming months to make sure this does not continue to happen in this country.
check out my political blog, Basie!
You are not logged in.
In order to post a comment, you must be logged in. If you have a member account, please log in to comment.
If not, you can make an account right here. It's quick and free.
